Luminaire for elongate tubular lamps comprising telescoped extensible sections



Nov. 28, 1950 E. F. GUTH, JR 2,532,023

AIRE FOR ELONGATE TUBULAR L s COMPRISING TELESCOPED EXTENSIBLE SE IONS Filed March 18, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LUMIN Nov. 28, 1950 E. F. GUTH, JR 7 LUMINAIRE FOR ELONGATE TUBULAR LAMPS COMPRISING TELESCOPED EXTENSIBLE SECTIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 18, 1949 Patented Nov. 28, 1950 LUMINAIRE FOR ELONGATE TUBULAR LAMPS COMPRISING TELESCOPED EXTENSIBLE SECTIONS Edwin F. Guth, .lr., Ladue, Mo., assignor to The Edwin F. Guth Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application March 18, 1949, Serial No. 82,216

Claims. 1

This invention relates to luminaires, and with regard to certain more specific features to fluorescent lamp fixtures forming luminaires.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of a luminaire type of fiuorescentlamp fixture which may be manufactured, stored, packaged and shipped in convenient short lengths; the provision of a fixture of the class described having a short, rigid telescopic form for convenient shipment in small boxes, but which may quickly be extended for mounting; and the provision of a fixture of the class described which will be acceptably rigid when extended and installed and which will have a good appearance. Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing my new fixture as installed, including its lamps;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary half plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. l but showing the lamps and certain reflectors removed;

Fig. l is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing parts telescoped together for shipment.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of two reflectors;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged diagrammatic cross section taken on line 66 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. '7 is an enlarged cross section taken on line 1-1 of Fig.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The longer fluorescent lamp fixtures (for example, 8 feet or so long) for several reasons are expensive. First, the long sheet metal parts are difficult to handle during manufacture, particularly in connection with welding machinery and the like, used to perform operations thereon. In their long lengths, they are expensive to store in warehouses and are difi'icult to ship, requiring long and sturdy cartons which will sufiiciently stiffen the fixtures so that they do not bend out of shape from the loads imposed by the rather heavy attached choke coil ballast equipment. By means of the present invention, the fixtures are made up of extensible telescoping sections which are easily individually handled during manufacture and which may be telescoped together into short lengths to make a more compact and rigid assembly for warehousing and shipment, requiring smaller cartons, but which when extended and installed present a rigid construction of fine appearance.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown at numeral l a central guide element having a generally inverted U-shape shown in Fig. 6. In particular, this guide element comprises a fiat top 3 formed with downwardly bent ridges 5, and side walls '7 the lower edges of which are inwardly hooked as at 9, the whole being composed of sheet metal which has springy characteristics. At numerals II are shown slide members having tops l3 in which are upper grooves 15 (for sliding cooperation with the ridges 5) and which have side walls 11 and hooked lower margins l9. These margins I9 include grooved edges 2| for a sliding cooperation with the hooks 9. The parts I and H are sized and shaped as above described, so that there is a springy sliding engagement between the hooks 9 and grooves 2|, and also between the grooves l5 and ridges 5, without any clearance but without excessive friction. The result is that the slides l l have closely guided telescoping movement with the guide I, without excessive friction.

The top l3 of each slide H is depressed as shown at 23 for the reception of fasteners 25 for attaching within each slide a choke coil ballast element 21. On the outer ends of the slides H are fastened, as by welding, end plates 29 which carry trimming 3| and the sockets 33 for the tubular lamps 35 to be employed when the fixture is installed, as shown in Fig. 1. Accurate spacing between the sockets 33 is predetermined when the slides are extended by means of catch stops constituted by slots 31 at opposite ends of the guide I, adapted to be engaged by tongues 39; on the inner ends of the slides.

At numerals M are shown a pair of sheet metal or sheet plastic reflector plates, or diffusers (depending upon the material), the lengths of which are approximately half of the fixture length when extended. The cross sections of these are best shown in Fig. 6, which shows that they include curved snap-on lips 42 by means of which they may be snapped into position on the hooks 9 and I9 of the members I and II, respectively. The metal of the members I and II is thin enough and there is sufiicient flexibility in the snap-on lips 42 so that the snap-holding action is effective along the entire lengths of the reflectors 4i.

Thus they hold partly to the guide I and partly to the slides II. They abut centrally as shown at 43.

From the above it will be clear that each guide I, slide II and reflector plate 4| may be manufactured separately. Each has a length which is muchless than the length of the fixture when installed. This makes them, much more convenient to handle in the factory than if the fixture were made in one piece of the installed length. For example, in connection with the slides II, it is much more convenient -to bring them into position at a welder for attaching the trim plates 29 and trim 3| .than if the whole fixture needed to be handled at such imachines. In storage, the parts are much more convenient to arrange either separately or by telescoping the members I and II into the short form shown in Fig. 4. In this Fig. 4 condition of thefi-xture, the reflectors 4| are removed. For shipment, the 4 short assembly is employed, thi being placed in a carton along with separated reflectors 41. this timeare attached. These are quite heavy,

'The electrical ballast members 2? at (say 8 feet long) may baaccepted.

However, before the lamps are installed, the "reflectors M are snapped from below into; position on'thegguide I and a slide all. Sincethasheet -metal of parts I and H is relatively thin,-these reflectors -4I havera; gripping-:actionpn-the slides H as well-asonithesguide-l. :Finally, the lamps 35 areainstalled,with-the result shown in Fig. 1.

:fMounting may be accomplished either from :a conventionalceiling plate (not-shown) by: means of ibolts' in :holes' 45 (Fig.1 '2) or from conventional suspension tubes (not shown) -:cooperating with holes l'l. It-:wi-ll beuunderstood thatzmounting is carried out after extending parts! and ii 'and,,,

before-application cit-he reflectors' ll and lamps 35,, so .that. the: holes are properly spaced: and so that access :may beihad tothe boltsortubesior the holes.

It will be obvious that although the above .de-

script-ion discloses :a three-section telescoping unit, the invention :may be carried out in-either two, or more than threesections.

Several points of importance, not. already emphasized,-should be noted. Among these-are the.

zigzag contours-oi the side walls 7 and ll of the guide I and slides llgrespectively. This zigzag effect is in part due tothe rshapes-of the hooks 9: and 19. The result is-acertain-lamou nt of vertical resiliency between -theisliding contacts at:-5,--I5 and -9,-2I. ':This' factor, taken-in con- .nection with the fact'that theguide I and slides I i do not substantially engage one another otherwise-than at the contacts 5, I5 .and 9, .2%, .accounts for the ease with which telescoping. may

:be accomplished without sacrifice of stiffness of the structure when extended. iSubsta-ntial :rigidity when -.extended isimportant in order that'twisting efie cts shalll-not be applied etc the relatively fragile tubular-fluorescent. lamps.

may also be observed that the reflectors 4|, which are sprung onto the guide I and slides II, form overlapping stiffeners in the installed condition of the fixture.

In the appended claims, the term heads is employed for defining the hook-shaped character of the elongate lower edges of the walls I and I1. Thus the lower edges of the guide I and slides II have the double functions of forming beads for springingly receiving the lips 42, and for-sliding engagement with one another to effect telescoping.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted .as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Iclaim:

1. A luminaire for elongate tubular fluorescent and similar lamps, comprising an elongate slide member of generally hollow inverted U-shape,

lamp ballast equipment mounted in said slide member, anelongate guide member also of hollow inverted U-shape adapted internally to receive one end of the slide member in telescoping relation,.supporting end-plates carrying lamp sockets, said end plates being supported from said members, latching means cooperating between the slide and guide members adapted to predetermine I their extended positions, said slide. member being movable with respect to said guidernember from an extended latched position wherein the lamp sockets are spaced apart a distanceadapted to accept the lamps and in the absence of lamps to an unlatched telescoped position wherein-the lamp ballast equipment is contained within the telescoped slide and guide members.

2. A luminaire for elongate tubular fluorescent and similar lamps, comprising an elongate slide =member of generally hollow inverted U-shape,

lamp ballast equipment mounted in said slide member, an elongate guide member also of hollow inverted U-shapeadapted internally to reoeive one end of the slidemember in telescoping relation, supporting end members carrying lamp sockets below the lower edgesof the U -Shapes, said end plates being supported from said members, latching means cooperatin between the slide and-guide membersadaptedto predetermine their extended positions, said slide member being movablewith respect to said, guide member from an extended latched-position.wherein the lamp .sockets are-spaced apart :a distance. adapted to accept the lamps, and in the absence-0f lamps to .a retracted telescoped positionwherein the lamp ballast equipment is containedwithin the telescoped slide and guide members-said slide and guide members bei-ng formed at the-lower edges .of. their U.-.shapes as beads, and a reflector .plate of flexible sheet form-havin snap-0n desite end a slide member, supporting end members which are respectively attached to the outer ends of the slide members and carrying lamp sockets, latching means cooperating between the respective slide members and the guide member adapted to predetermine the extended positions of the slide members relative to the guide member, said slide members being movable with respect to said guide member from extended latched positions I wherein the lamp sockets are spaced apart a distance adapted to accept the lamps, and in the absence of lamps to retracted telescoping positions in the guide member wherein they abut one another and wherein the lamp ballast equipment unit is contained within telescoped slide and guide members.

4. A luminaire for elongate tubular fluorescent and similar lamps comprising two elongate slide members of generally hollow inverted U-shape, a lamp ballast equipment unit mounted in at least one of said slide members, an intermediate elongate guide member also of hollow inverted U-shape adapted internally respectively to receive at each opposite end a slide member in telescoping relation, supporting end members carrying lamp sockets respectively attached to the outer ends of the slide members, latching means cooperating between the respective slide members and the guide member adapted to predetermine the extended positions of the slide members relative to the guide member, said slide members being movable with respect to said guide member from extended latched positions wherein the lamp sockets are spaced apart a distance adapted to accept the lamps, and in the absence of lamps to retracted telescoping positions in the guide member wherein they abut one another and wherein a lamp ballast equipment unit is contained within telescoped slide and guide members, said slide and guide members being formed at the lower edges of their U-shapes as beads, and at least one reflector plate of flexible sheet material having snap-on means adapted to be snapped onto the beads of the slide and guide members when extended.

5. A luminaire for elongate tubular fluorescent and similar lamps comprising two elongate sheet 6 metal slide members of generally hollow inverted U-shape, a lamp ballast equipment unit mounted in each of said slide members, a central elongate sheet metal guide member also of hollow inverted U-shape adapted at opposite ends internally to receive the respective slide members in telescoping relation, supporting end plates which are respectively attached to the outer ends of the slide members and carrying lamp sockets below the lower edges of the U-shapes, latching means cooperating between the respective slide members and the guide member adapted to predetermine the extended positions of the slide members relative to the guide member, said slide members being movable with respect to said guide member from extended latched positions wherein the lamp sockets are spaced apart a distance adapted to accept the lamps and in the absence of lamps to retracted telescoping positions in the guide member wherein they abut one another and wherein the lamp ballast equipment units are contained within telescoped slide and guide members, said slide and guide members being formed at the lower edges of their U-shapes as beads, and a pair of reflector plates of flexible sheet material having snap-on lips adapted to be snapped onto the beads of'the slide and guide members, said reflector plates being located above the lamps, abutting centrally within the confines of the guide member and extending substantially to the end members.

EDWIN F. GUTH, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

